Battery



March 19, 1957 L. E. PUCHER BATTERY Filed Feb. 10, 1954 INVENTOR.

ur-Hmu l Eo E. Pu c HER Arron/vf ya BATTERY i t l Leo E. Pucher, SouthEuclid, Ohio, assignor to The Elec- Y tric Storage Battery Company,Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of New Jersey Application February 1o,1954, serial No.'4o9,41i

1 Claim. (Cl. 13s- 147) The present invention relates to electricbatteries and, more particularly, to electric batteries having at,platelikeelectrodesxand to a means for insulating; adjacent electrodes.l

The principal object ofthe provision of a novel andf improved 'electricbattey`coin prising a plurality of alternately-arranged, positive andnegative, flat, plate-like electrodes insulated from; one anotherbyshe'et-like insulating material foldedfovueropposite side edgesV ofthe plates ofon polarity and over the lower or bottom edge of the platesof the other polarity.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a novel and improvedelectric battery comprising a plurality of alternately arranged, at,plate-like, positive and negative electrodes insulated from one anotherby sheet-like insulating material interposed therebetween and arrangedin such a manner that it does not project materially lbeyond the edgesof the electrodes, thus producing a battery element of minimum size forany given electrode size.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a novel and improvedmethod of making an electric storage battery comprising a plurality ofpositive and negative, flat, plate-like electrodes which comprisesinsulating the respective electrodes from one another by enclosing eachplate of one polarity in a sheet-like insulating material folded aroundopposite side edges of the electrode and by enclosing each plate of theother polarity in a sheet of insulating material folded around the loweror bottom edge of the electrode.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a novel and improvedelectric storage battery of the character referred to in which aplurality of layers of paperthin sheet-like insulating material isinterposed between adjacent battery plates.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a novel and improvedmethod of effectively insulating the plates of batteries with paper-thinsheets of suitable material by providing multiple layers of the materialbetween adjacent plates so that aws in any one sheet will not materiallyaffect the battery. 1

The invention resides in certain constructions and combinations andarrangements of parts and other objects and advantages thereof will Ibeapparent to those skilled in the art to which it relates from thefollowing description of the preferred embodiment described withreference to the accompanying drawings forming a part of thisspecification, in which similar reference characters designatecorresponding parts, and in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of asingle cell battery embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the battery shown in Fig. 1 withpart of the case broken away to show the interior construction;

Fig. 3 is a sectional View approximately on the line 3-3 of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is an expanded view of the insulating material used for plates ofone polarity illustrating its manner of construction and installation onthe plate;

present invention ,is :thief llFig. 5 isa view similar to Fig. 4 butshowing an alterl native construction; and

-Figg 6-is an expanded view of the insulating material usedj for theplates of the other polarity showing its manner of construction andinstallation on the plate.

While the invention is applicable to batteries generally, s it isparticularly applicable to small, compact, so-called deferred actioncellsy and is herein illustrated 'and described as embodied in adeferred action battery in which,

the active material .of the positive and negative plates are or comprisesilver peroxide and/ or other higher oxides of silver and zinc,respectively. f

Referring to thedrawings, thebattery illustrated therein and designatedgenerally by the referencecharacter :A

comprises a` case` 10 `containing `a plurality off positive,

plate-likeelectrodes 11 interposed between negative platelikeelectrodes-12` and separated from one another in amanner-hereinafter-specifcally described. The positive through -themedium` of which the positive plates areall connectedto aterminal poststrap'14 having a terminal,4

post 15 formed integral therewith and which projects through a cover 16suitably secured to and closing the upper open end of the case 10.

The negative plates 12 each comprises sponge zinc supported on orcarried by a suitable supporting grid, preferably copper, bronze, orsilver wire gauze or screen covered with a hard, non-porous zinc coatingproduced in any suitable manner, as by plating, from an alkaline cyanidebath. Like the grid for the positive plates, the grids for the negativeplates have upward projections 18 which serve as plate connecting lugsfor connecting the respective negative plates with the negative terminalpost strap 20, similar to the positive plate strap 14 but positioned atthe opposite end of the battery. The negative post strap has a negativeterminal post 21 formed integral therewith and projecting through asuitable aperture in the cover 16.

As is the usual practice, the cover 16 has a filling opening normallyclosed by a cap 22 and the terminal posts are connected to the cover insuch a manner as to prevent leakage of electrolyte thereabout.

According to the present invention, the electrodes 11 of one polarity;for example, the electrodes of positive polarity, are insulated byenclosing each in two sheets of insulating material 23, 24. Each sheetof insulating material has a length approximately twice the width of theelectrode, is folded along its center line, and is inserted over theelectrode so that the folds lie adjacent opposite side edges thereof, asillustrated in Fig. 4. It will be understood that either sheet 23 or 24can be omitted, if deisred, without departing from the scope of theinvention. The electrodes 12 of the other polarity; for example, theelectrodes of negative polarity, are insulated by enclosing each in asheet of insulating material 25 having a length approximately twice theheight of the electrode. Each sheet is folded along its center line andinserted over an electrode so that the fold lies adjacent to the loweredge thereof, as illustrated in Fig. 5.

As an alternative construction, each of the electrodes of one polaritymay be enclosed in a sheet of insulating material 26 having a lengthapproximately equal to three times the width of the electrode, with thesheet wrapped thereabout as illustrated in Fig. 6, so as to be foldedover opposite side edges of the electrode.

Subsequent to assembly, the positive and negative electrodes with theirrespective sheets of insulating material positioned thereabout arestacked or arranged in the usual manner and the plate connectinglugsof'the respective positive and negative electrodes Welded or other-Size and anew and-improved method of making the same.

wise secured to the respective positive and negative'terminal poststraps 14 and 20, respectively. The cell is then placed inthe case 10and the cover 16 sealed or other- `wisesecured in position. Y Y Y Y A KWith reference to the battery shownin-thelpreferred embodiment, theinsulating material is preferably off tissue paper-like character andmay be sheets of plastic im-V pregnated non-woven, natural cellulosicmaterial such as Aldex, Viskon, Webrilj Dynel, Viskingf or Athe like.Attention is called to the fact that with the preferred constructioneach plate is separated by a plurality of sheets of insulation material,with the result vthat should a awoccur in one ofthe sheets 'such asmight-fbe produced by aseparation of the fibers, the danger` of a shortcircuit occurring between the vplates is remote as the likelihood of theflaws occurring in aligned positions in adjacent sheets is remote.

lFrom the foregoing descriptionof the preferred embodiment of theinvention, it will be apparent that the objects heretofore enumeratedand others have beenaccomplished and that there has been provided animproved battery comprising alternately arranged, flat, plate-likepositive and negative electrodes insulated from one another bysheet-like insulating material interposed therebetween and arranged soas not to project materially beyond the edges of the electrodes, therebyproducing a battery element of minimum size forany given electrode Whilethe preferred embodiment of the invention has beendescribedinconsiderable detaLtheinVentiOn-is notlimited to theparticular construction shown and the preferred method of manufactureand it is my intention to cover hereby all adaptations, modificationsand uses thereof which come within the practice of those skilled in theart to which the invention relates and within the scope of the appendedclaims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

A- silver-zinc battery comprising a plurality of alternately positionedpositive and negative electrodes, each of said negative electrodes beingenclosed in a sheet; of insulating material folded over opposite sideedges thereof, and-each of said positive electrodes being enclosed in asheet of insulating material folded over the bottom edge thereof.

References Cited in the lile of this Vpatent UNITEDV STATES PATENTS631,796 Knepper Aug. 29, v18,99 2,157,629 Rolph May 9, 1939 2,279,318Hilger et a1. Apr. 14, 1942 v FOREIGN PATENTS 1,972 Great Britain Dec.10, 1914 751,398 'France June 19, 1933

